Lisbon - Belem Tarts!

Lisbon is amazing! Just my opinion of course but I have found it to be just about the most charming and laid back city ever! Maybe it's just because it's the weekend and the weather has been perfect, but my experience here has been nothing short of fantastic. I spent months researching and planning my time in Barcelona, Madrid and Paris - and I spent about 10 minutes planning my time for Lisbon. I have heard good things about it - but my only agenda item was to eat Belem Tarts - check!! And they exceeded my expectations! My plan was to just go where the wind blew me here - and rest and relax while looking at the ocean. It has turned out to be a great plan. So I'm just going to post a bunch of pictures with very short explanations of what they are - I'll start with food!! Happy to report the food here has been great! 

Egg tarts - I expected them to taste like quiche but the filling is like a delicious vanilla pudding - fantastic! Who knows when I'll be back - better have two!! You can get them elsewhere in town but this place is the best! Some days they sell 150,000 - that is not a typo!! 

Dinner last night - gnocchi with fresh shrimp and zucchini. Brownie with gelato for dessert - Yumm! 

Finally got my paella - went with the veggie. 

Hi from Belem Tower!! I'm really here!! 

Padrao dos Descobrimentos - Age of Discovery Statue. Honoring the Explorers.  You can actually take an elevator up to the top but it's very high so I passed!

Commerce Square - beautiful square right by the water. You can take an elevator to the top of the arch but again I said nope! I'm not big on high open spaces. It's pretty from the ground too. 

Santa Justa Elevator. Build in 1902 by Raoul de Mesnier du Ponsard - apprentice to Gustave Eiffel. Guess what he built??? I did go to the top of that! 

Saint Jerome Monastery - built in the 1500's and withstood the earthquake from the 1700's - beautiful gothic church. 

Alfalfa - oldest area of Lisbon. Very narrow cobblestone streets and all uphill!  The castle of St George up on the hill bottom right.

Baixa - the downtown district. Big squares, cobblestone streets, pedestrian friendly!

Bairro Alto - the upper district. Restaurants and good shopping! 

Lots of styles of transportation- my favorite are the 100 year old trams!! They remind me of San Francisco cable cars. They grind and lurch up and down the hilly narrow streets - quite an experience. Lots of the 3 wheel motorized carts as an option along with subways and regular buses.

The top is my favorite picture of the day. I sat in the cafe looking out at those beautiful rooftops and the water and had a big glass (maybe 2) of wine. I love the pink, blue and yellow houses! And if after climbing the big hill to get there you feel like laying down and having a drink - that's ok too! 

This one is for Keeley - prettiest Starbucks I've ever seen!! 

Tomorrow I have planned something that I think will be a real highlight - so check back in if you have time.  

 "Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller." Ibn Battuta

Thanks for reading my story!! 

Good Bye Madrid

And just when I was getting in the swing of things - time to move on. Today I did what is apparently mandatory in Spain - ate dessert at 5 PM! And made a good selection this time - tried 4 things and all delicious!! 

Love that little gold dust on the top left!!  

This morning it definitely looked like rain but luckily it held off until tonight. I slept in a bit - reminded myself that is an option as I'm on vacation - and headed to the last museum on my "must see" list - the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. For those of you screaming "not another museum" relief is in sight!! I have zero plans to see any museums on my next stop in Lisbon. So hang in there for this last one. This completes the 3 museums that are called the Golden Mile in Madrid because they are all within a mile. If you think of the Prado as old art and the Sofia as new art then the Thyssen falls between the two - basically. Not exactly as the Thyssen has some old medieval art but it's niche is definitely somewhere between the other two. And it was fantastic!! And the bulk of the collection was donated by a Baron and his wife - and housed in a beautiful old mansion - very cool!  

The old mansion and the new addition are beautiful together!! These are pics from the entrance. 

Lots of the Impressionists and even one from my favorite artist Caravaggio. Picasso and through the newer artists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. There was also a special exhibit by Andrew and Jamie Wyeth so really a bonus. I spent at least 3 hours there - feeling so fortunate to have this time to enjoy myself. But now I'm ready for a few days of relaxing and looking at the sea!! 

Some other things I saw in my walk today were the beautiful Puerta De Alcala. This was originally the entrance gate to Madrid when it had a wall around it. It kind of reminded me of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. And the traffic circle around it was equally as crazy!!! I counted at least 7 traffic lanes and crossing without the green walk sign would be a sure death wish. 

Beautiful flowers blooming all over Madrid!! 

This building really caught my eye and I had to take a picture. It is called Palacios de Comunicaciones and is the town hall and main post office.  

Also the statue of Christopher Columbus. I forget he came from Spain. In the middle of another very busy traffic circle.

Thanks for discovering America!! 

Madrid has lots of tiny narrow streets connected by very large busy streets. And then just like Barcelona - very pedestrian friendly with beautiful boulevards for walking with trees, flowers and benches. 

That's my time in Madrid. I really enjoyed it so much. I'm getting much better at reading maps and heading in the correct direction - whew!! Tomorrow I fly to Lisbon. I'm so excited to see it and hopefully relax a bit more. I have something really special planned for Monday - so check back in if you have time. Have a great weekend!! Adios!! 

Churros and Chocolate!

When in Rome - when in Spain.........figured I had to try the Churros and Chocolate. So I did! And at what I read is the best place in town - Chocolateria Valor. And they are not my thing - sorry. But at least I can say I tried them.  

4 Churros and a huge cup of dark chocolate for 4.3 Euros. 

Tomorrow I will save my calories and get something from this place!!! 

They had 3 or 4 windows filled with gorgeous pastries!!!  

It's true what you hear about the late eating hours here in Spain. It would definitely take some getting used to. Restaurants open at 1 PM for lunch and 8 or 8:30 PM for dinner. Cafe's thank goodness are open all day. Most people eat dinner at 9:30 or 10 PM - pretty much my bed time! How do they last so late for dinner??? Well they eat pastries and donuts with a cappuccino on their way home to hold them over!! The shops with these delicious pastries are packed with people snacking on them and tapas while chatting with friends. They know how to enjoy life!!! 

It was another perfect day here in Madrid - clear and sunny and not too warm. Which was great because I had a lot of walking to do. Started my day at the Prado Museum - really one of the top art museums in the world. It definitely did not disappoint. Like the Louvre it is huge - you could spend a week there! I was feeling overwhelmed with how to begin and decided to purchase a little book called the Visitor's Guide to 50 Masterpieces at the Museo Del Prado - best 5 Euros spent ever! It took me through a large section of the museum and told me about those 50 important works moving forward through time. I wasn't very familiar with the most famous Spainish painters but was totally impressed with the work I saw. And I have the book to bring home with pictures of them all! 

They don't allow pictures inside the museum so here are a few shots of the outside.  It's a beautiful area of town!

I was there about 4 hours and wanted a little fresh air before heading to my next museum - so walked through a bit of the Parque Del Buen Retiro - which is just east of the Prado. It is a beautiful park - kind of their Central Park. Huge really with all kinds of walks, statues and trees. It made me wish I had my running shoes as I saw tons of people running on the wonderful paths. On the south end is the Palacio de Cristal - a crystal palace which was spectacular!! It is used for concerts and special exhibits. In fact there was a violinist playing outside the structure today - perfect!!

Beautiful flowers blooming on the trees that line the paths. Check out those turtles playing King of the Hill in the lake!! Beautiful tiles outline the structure above and below all the glass.  

My next stop was the Centro De Arte Reina Sofia which is Madrid's collection of contemporary art - most famous for Picasso's Guernica - claimed by some to be the single-most important artwork of the 20th century. It is inspired by the bombing of the town of Guernica by Hitler. It's a hard piece to look at - I could almost hear the people screaming. In the room preceding it they have the sketches Picasso did to prepare for it - very moving. The museum also has quite a bit of work from Dali - which is always interesting. The building itself is in two sections - an older area that was originally a hospital, and a new addition that is quite modern. The hallways of the old section reminded me of Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest - which was kind of a random thing to be reminded of!!!

Sculpture as you enter the museum and the picture on the left shows the old building on the right and the new elevator of the new section. An interesting contrast but it works! 

Ok are you still with me?? I have a few things to post from yesterday. In the afternoon I made a visit to see the Royal Palace. So glad I did - it was really spectacular! Considered to be right up there in grandeur with Versailles in France and the Schonbrunn Palace outside of Vienna. I have seen both of them and thought Palacio Real as it is called - is equally as beautiful. Quite a bit of the original decor is still available to see - and I was especially intrigued by the amazing clocks in every room. Unfortunately they don't allow any pictures but I have a few of the exterior. Since it was raining I didn't get to see the gardens behind it, but really enjoyed seeing how royalty lives! Or did live as currently the palace is only used for special occasions although Spain still has a King and Queen that live just outside of town.

This is only a small part of the palace - no way to get the whole thing in except maybe from the air! 

The painting is in the entry on the ceiling as you come in - It's the only thing you can photograph but it will give you a sense of the detail. 

The Cathedral of Madrid was right next door so I figured why not stop in - especially since I've been averaging 2 churches a day!! It is officially called Catedral De Nuestra Senora De La Almudena. It was huge and had at least a dozen or more chapels around the interior. As churches go it is really not that old. Construction began in 1879 and it was finished in 1992. 

That's Senora De La Almudena! She likes to make a big entrance apparently. 

Well that's it for today! Here are my totals so far. In 5 days I have seen:

5 Churches

4 Museums

2 Parks

1 Palace

Walked 52 Miles

Not keeping track of how much wine I have drank!!! 

Thanks for reading and hope your day has been great too!!! 

I LOVE MADRID!!!!

Got to Madrid this afternoon and I already know I LOVE it! Better then Barcelona! But that's just my opinion - and it's not that I'm trying to rank cities best to worst - just love the feel of this place! And I arrived in the rain so it already had a strike against it - doesn't matter. It has been a great day starting with taking the train here from Barcelona. I wish we had trains like they have here. Not your clackety-clack Amtrak - smooth, sleek, fast and comfortable! Got here in just over 3 hours but it went by fast. Pretty sure I dozed for part of it. Which brings me to say that I am beat - and have a packed day set for tomorrow. So instead of a history lesson on what I saw - I thought I would just post some fun stuff I saw today - and save the other info for tomorrow. I saw the Royal Palace today and it was amazing - so stay tuned!!! 

My train!! Even looks fast doesn't it?? 

Something I have seen numerous times already here in Madrid - mannequins dressed on balconies!! Just makes me laugh! It probably means something terrible like "we sell drugs here" but I still think it's funny. Sometimes they even have two of them - looks like a party! 

But that dress has to go!!! 

I was wandering around and just happened to find the street where priests buy their vestments - not kidding!! There were at least 6 stores in a row and all had vestments in the windows! Lots of colors! Shouldn't there be some kind of credentials required to buy this stuff? 

Then I turned the corner and found the Flamenco Dancing stores. I would have a hard time deciding between these outfits. And they were not cheap!! Beautifully made in lovely fabrics - these are the real deal!!! 

And for the men....... 

And I ate!!! Woohoo! Happened across this wonderful market called Mercado De San Miguel. It was an old market that just got a face lift. I walked around the whole place before deciding what to get. And great people watching. You just get whatever you want from the various stalls and bars and try and find a community table to eat it at. Everyone walking around with a beer or glass of wine in hand trying different things. And some pretty exotic stuff! 

Mercado De San Miguel Market - I will most likely be back another time!! 

Great ready to feast your eyes! 

Clockwise starting at the top. Wine bar, olive bar, chocolate selection, weird fish selection - check out the black spikey ball!!! 

Fresh mozzarella bar, caviar bar, oysters, desserts, quiche's and empanadas. And there were actually lots more!! 

Ok so here is my boring choice! But delicious!! 

Spinach and ham quiche and goat cheese vegetable bags.  

I think I took at least 50 pictures of statues, squares and buildings. I have no idea what any of them are but they look awesome! Check out this building. It has big horse statues on top - how cool is that? I would like that on my building!

This could be a prison for all I know but it looks so cool!!

And it stopped raining - look at that blue sky. It's supposed to be a great day tomorrow so I am heading to bed. Lots more to see, do and eat here!! I'm having a blast - thanks for coming along!! 

Hola!

Day 3 in Barcelona - another beautiful day! My number one priority today was to see the Picasso Museum. Barcelona is home to Picasso - he did most of his training here so they love him like a son. I heard the museum was wonderful so I headed out early to get my ticket. The way it works is that you line up to buy a ticket, and then you come back to actually see the museum at your assigned time. Assigned by them - not you! I didn't do too badly - my assigned time was 11:30. So I had about an hour and a half to do something else so headed to the next stop on my list which was very close. Another church called Basilica De Santa Marie Del Mar - Our Lady of the Sea. Totally different from La Sagrada Familia for sure!! Considered the Gothic style and built from 1329 to 1383 - considered fast in those days! It was so quiet and peaceful inside and had such a spacious feel.  

A gorgeous stained glass over the entrance. 

Then a wandered around a bit until my 11:30 ticket time. Barcelona is known for it's textiles and there are wonderful shops with handmade designer clothing, shoes and handbags. I wandered into an area that had quite a few handbag shops which is my one shopping weakness and at first I thought it was fate! Then I heard my daughters voice in my ear saying "you don't need another purse" so I resisted. The streets in the old area are so narrow and they wind all over. Here is a picture as an example and what you can't really see is that there are little shops on both sides of the street. I just happened to snap this when no one was walking there as it's normally pretty busy. 

There are some that are even much narrower! 

Next stop the Picasso Museum. It was really one of my favorite places in Barcelona. The building it is in is actually 5 adjoining buildings that were medieval mansions. There are 16 exhibit rooms that you flow through, and they really focus on his earliest works. The first room has paintings from when he was just 13 years old and they are unbelievable! I have just recently become a big fan of his. I went to a special exhibit on his sculptures when I was in NYC in January at MOMA - and have been intrigued by him ever since. Many of his earliest works are more in the Impressionist genre - which is consistent with what I have learned in that great artists are usually wonderful traditional artists before they move into a style that they make more their own. I am not an art expert by any stretch - I just love to learn about it! And Picasso (or Pablo as I like to call him!)  spent many years in Paris "hanging out" with the great Impressionist artists so again seeing these works makes sense to me now. Unfortunately they don't allow ANY pictures - drat!!! But I did get a few of the exterior.

So old but so beautiful! 

I mentioned how pedestrian friendly the streets are and this old fountain caught my eye! 

Go ahead and fill your water bottle for free! 

This afternoon I made a late decision to jump on a 3 PM tour to Montserrat. Montserrat is a monastery high on a mountain about an hour ride from Barcelona. I had heard and read great things about it but didn't know if I would be able to squeeze it in. I like to sight see more then shop so decided if they had a spot I would do it and so glad I did. Plus I have walked a ton - and the hour bus ride to and from sounded pretty good! The monastery dates back to 1025 and was founded to commemorate a vision of the Virgin on the mountain, after which the Virgin de Monserrat, allegedly carved by St Luke and hidden here by Peter was discovered. I say allegedly because the tour guide said there is a lot of mystery as to where the statue came from and how it made it to a cave in Montserrat. It is one of the "Black Madonna's" and you can actually touch her fingers and the ball she is holding!!! Which of course I stood in line to do!!! Much of the original church was destroyed in the early 1800's but they have rebuilt and it's really amazing. So different from the church I was in this morning. Lots of gold and really a Byzantine look.

Montserrat! You can't tell from this picture but it's a very high spot in the mountain - quite a climb (in my case ride) to get there! 

Upper left - the view from the monastery. Upper right - the Black Madonna. Lower left - the Black Madonna as seen from the church floor way high over the alter. Lower right - the Funicular! You can take a tram right up to the top of that mountain if you dare - which I didn't!!!  

I didn't do very well on food today - sorry!! Kind of ran out of time so got this ham and cheese sandwich on amazing fresh bread - and a bag full of great cookies to snack on!! 

That was my day!! Fun fact I learned about Barcelona - prior to the 1992 Olympics held here they had 1 million tourists visit a year. Since 1992 they have over 14 million tourists a year - amazing!!! It is really a beautiful city with friendly people and lots to see and do.  

Tomorrow I am off on the "fast" train to Madrid! Adios!!